Strong Body, Strong Mind

Three Months After Being Isekai’d:

Kei’s eyes flickered open at the first crow of the rooster. He pushed himself upright with his arms, avoiding his legs, but a sharp pain stabbed through his lower back, drawing a wince.

As he stepped out of the barn, a caravan pulled up near the farm. He glanced around—no lanterns lit, no creaking doors, no voices. Just him and the cart. He stepped toward it.

His eyes widened, mouth slightly agape.
“Satori? What are you doing here?”

“Yo, Twiggy. You're still kicking, huh? Figured you wouldn't last a week.” Satori hopped off the caravan and walked over. “You’ve made some progress—not bad. You’ve got some meat on your bones now.”

A slight heat rose to Kei’s face. “Uh, yeah… sure. What brings you here?”

Satori smirked. “Still as shy as ever. I’m hoping to buy some moonshine off Gerald.”

Kei nodded. “Right, moonshine.”

Gerald and Kent had made their way out of the house by then and approached, curious about the visitor. Gerald instantly recognized Satori.

“Ah, right. You're here for the good stuff.”

Satori nodded, and without a word, Gerald went inside.

Kei shifted his weight from foot to foot, eyes flicking between them. The question gnawed at him. He blurted out:

“Say, Satori, how long do you think I’d have to work here before I’m in good enough shape to move to the big city and start adventuring?”

Kent raised an eyebrow. Satori laughed.

“Right, I forgot. You want to be an adventurer.” He stopped to think. “At least another year. You’re still too much of a twig.”

Kent huffed. “You didn’t see him kill a goblin two months back. I reckon he’s already got the guts.”

Satori’s eyes lit up. “Killed yourself a goblin, eh? Not bad.” He circled Kei, appraising him.

“But what are you going to do when there are twenty of them surrounding you—just you and a friend or two? You’ve gotta be quick on your feet and able to kill with ruthless efficiency. A lot of hopefuls end up goblin chow because they were too eager. Take your time. You’re young, and the guild isn’t going anywhere.”

Kei lowered his gaze, lips tightening. “I’ve come so far, but I feel like I’m taking baby steps.”

Satori chuckled. “You’ve got ambition, but don’t let it get you killed. Take it from the second-best in the world.” He jabbed a thumb into his own chest.

Kei nodded, gaze hardening. “Right. I’ll keep that in mind. Anyway, I should get to work. Cows won’t milk themselves.”

Kei walked off.

“I’ll give him six months,” Kent said.

“Six months to an early grave,” Satori said with a laugh.

As he led the cow toward the barn, something wet tickled his upper lip. He swiped at it and stared at the smear of red on his hand.

“Weird. I thought I was done with nosebleeds.”

Heidi passed by with another cow and handed him a handkerchief. A warmth crept up his neck and settled in his cheeks.

“I’m good, thanks,” he said, pulling one from his pocket.

“You should see a doctor next time you’re in town. When you first came here, I swore I’d never seen a man bleed from the nose so much.”

Kei leaned down to start milking. “I’ll do that. I never had this problem back in…”

The words “my world” nearly slipped out. “In the north. Though I probably shouldn’t talk about it. The nightmares haven’t been happening for a while now.”

Heidi nodded. “Right, of course. I’m just concerned. You’re a good man, Keisuke. I wouldn’t want to see you in bad health.” She led her cow away.

Heat surged to his face. “She called me a good man,” he muttered, barely believing it.

“Kent, who had snuck into the other stall with a cow, chuckled.

“Man, you’ve got it baaaad. You sure you wanna leave to be an adventurer?”

His mouth opened, but no sound followed. Heat climbed up to his ears, burning.

He thought of Akari back home and wondered how she felt about his disappearance. Then his thoughts turned to Heidi. His stomach tightened, a strange lightness swirling inside.

“Fine, you caught me,” he said. In 4K, he thought—but Kent wouldn’t get the joke.

Kent laughed. “You’ve been making doe-eyes at her since week one, Keisuke. Don’t think I haven’t noticed.”

Kei barked back defensively, “She’s a very attractive woman. What do you expect?”

Kent grinned. “Yeah, she is. So, what are you going to do about it, hmm?”

Kei’s voice dropped. “She’s… way out of my league. A girl like that wouldn’t even look twice at someone like me.”

As Kei stood up and led the cow toward the barn, Kent sighed.

“That’s such a weak mindset. You won’t stand a chance with any woman until you fix that. Women like confidence, noodle boy.”

Kei gritted his teeth as he walked away. “Dammit,” he muttered, letting out a long, frustrated sigh.

In the back of his mind, he knew Kent was right—though he didn’t want to admit it.

All day, Kei caught himself repeating Kent’s words. Confidence. Weak mindset. Over and over, they looped, wearing grooves in his brain. That evening, back at the barn, he let out another sigh.

“Weak body. Weak will. Weak mind,” he muttered.

He clenched his fist and gritted his teeth. His face hardened.

“No, I’m done being that guy! I’ll develop a strong body, and a strong mind.”

He dropped down and started doing burpees. Each time his chest smacked the ground, he exploded upward again, teeth gritted as pain jolted through his arms and spine.

Eventually, he collapsed onto his makeshift bed, huffing and puffing. Satori’s words echoed in his mind—twenty goblins, surrounding you.

“I’m such an idiot. I killed one goblin that wasn’t even looking and I let it get to my head.”

Grunting in frustration, he forced himself back to his feet and started jogging around the perimeter of the farm.

Halfway around, he stumbled and hit the grass hard with a thud. Groaning, he slowly pushed himself back up.

“Strong body. Strong mind.” He whispered it again. And again.

He thought about Heidi. About Kent and Satori’s words.

“How could I be so stupid,” he muttered, his voice flat and drained.

The next morning, he used his knees to push himself upright. No grunts. No winces.

As he went out to milk the cows, he saw Heidi chatting with Kent. They were laughing about something.

When Heidi saw Kei, she smiled. “Good morning, Keisuke.”

He nodded. “Good morning.” Then he got to work.

“Strong body. Strong mind,” he muttered, teeth gritted as he leaned over to milk the cow. A stony look on his face. He attacked the chores with focus, jaw set, movements crisp. This world wouldn't beat him. Not today.